Nikon TC's - loss of sharpness

[BillN_33]

This is what PhotographicLife, (Nasim Mansurov), says about Nikon TC's

1. Nikon TC-14E II – 5% Sharpness Loss
2. Nikon TC-17E II – 17% Sharpness Loss
3. Nikon TC-20E III – 26% Sharpness Loss

https://photographylife.com/image-degradation-with-nikon-teleconverters

AF performance depends on lens

maybe interesting to you

I have the 14 and 20 and was about to buy a 17, (used on Ebay they are under £200), to use with the 300mm PF

 

[Gary Coyle]

Bill, in my experience if you accept that the 1.4x does lose 5% sharpness then the 1.7x loses nowhere hear 17%, i would say nearer to 7-8% and i wouldn't bother with the 2x, i would also say the Kenko 1.4x NON DG is only 6%

 

[BillN_33]

Bill, in my experience if you accept that the 1.4x does lose 5% sharpness then the 1.7x loses nowhere hear 17%, i would say nearer to 7-8% and i wouldn't bother with the 2x, i would also say the Kenko 1.4x NON DG is only 6%

Thanks Gary - I bought the x 2 to go with the 300mm f2.8VR and I have found it works well

I was surprised to see a 17% loss reported

I never really notice any IQ different with the 1,4 on the primes I use - and when you think that you can convert a 600mm f4 to a 840mm f5.6 for £250 they are a bargain

I have seen images with the 300mm PF + 1,7TC and they look good especially as I use the 300mm hand held - the 300mm PF with the 1,4 is a great carry around because of the overall size and IQ ..... I would not think that the 1,7 will be much different especially as the lens has VR

I'll give 1,7 a whirl and see what the images are like, especially as the light is getting better

Cheers

 

[HoppyUK]

90% of telecon performance depends on the lens they're attached to. All they do is enlarge the centre section of the image, which is a relatively simple optical task.

 

[BillN_33]

90% of telecon performance depends on the lens they're attached to. All they do is enlarge the centre section of the image, which is a relatively simple optical task.

Thanks, that's all I'm after with small birds

but presumably optical enlargement is better than digital crop?

 

[minnnt]

Well I'm hoping that the 17% loss isn't correct having just bought the TC-17E II. having said that, i will be using it on the 70-200mm VR which gets criticised for having soft corners so perhaps over all performance will improve.

Optical zoom will be better as you will retain full resolution. Or at least i would have thought so?

 

[HoppyUK]

Thanks, that's all I'm after with small birds

but presumably optical enlargement is better than digital crop?

Yes, pretty much - though when it comes to small birds you usually need both

 

[Osmo]

Thanks for the link Bill. Thats was very useful.

I've just recently bought the 20 for my 300mm PF ED VR and sold my 17 to do so as overall focal length was my objective, knowing that I would lose some clarity. I have only had one opportunity to try my new lens and TC combo and it's too early for me to say if its acceptable (to me) or not as my technique was all over the place and consequently the D800 punished me!

I think I will invest in a 14 soon though for when I'm lucky enough for the feathered ones to be close enough.

Thanks again.

 

[Diving Pete]

I have all 3 of the OP's Convertors:

the 1.4 - used all the time & love it
the 1.7 - used 3 times - going to sell it
the 2.0 - 30ish times - now only use in very good weather

& the D800 takes no prisoners - lol

 

[BillN_33]

I have all 3 of the OP's Convertors:

the 1.4 - used all the time & love it
the 1.7 - used 3 times - going to sell it
the 2.0 - 30ish times - now only use in very good weather

& the D800 takes no prisoners - lol

which 1,7 do you have - if it is the latest Nikon, I may be interested

 

[chuckles]

Interesting it's described as "% Loss of sharpness". In reality, it's a magnification of aberrations! As has already been said, it's a simple magnifier.

 

[mpe]

I think on phtotographylife.com "5% Sharpness Loss" means 5% lower Imatest score.

 

[Brachytron]

Of course it depends on your camera. I have the Canon 1.4 & 2 and on my 7d2, the sharpness loss on both is a lot more than on the 1DX, due to the much smaller pixel size.